Atlético walking financial tightrope

Atlético de Madrid's first-team squad expenditure is currently above the limit set by Spain's Professional Football League (LFP). The club has a week to rectify this situation or sanctions could be imposed.

If the 'Rojiblancos' fail to address this issue before the transfer window closes, they could potentially be banned from registering new players - in other words, prevented from making signings in the future - or in the worst-case scenario, face forced relegation.

This is why right now the club is fully focused on offloading players to reduce the wage bill and balance the books.

The word coming out of the Calderón is that getting rid of Toby Alderweireld and Emanuel Insúa would be enough to square the accounts. If Cristian Rodríguez were to leave too, that could even allow someone else to come in, such as Alessio Cerci or Xherdan Shaqiri. The problem is that there still aren't any good offers for the Uruguayan.

Atlético's spending cap for their squad - calculated based on the idea that it should not exceed 70% of relevant revenue - is approximately ¤100 million. However, some 10% of this is ringfenced for the academy (3%) and bonuses (7%), while a further 10% is earmarked for the coaching staff, leaving ¤80m to 'play with'.

This ballpark figure isn't a transfer budget. Rather, it is the maximum that the club is allowed to spend annually on wages, income tax, image rights and amortisation costs related to transfer fees. When this limit is exceeded, it spells trouble - as shown by current events.